Practice and Opening Ceremony - Thursday and Friday - Updated 12 October

Thursday - First practice day, we were allowed 2 hours at the courts. The courts are fantastic, long grass but very flat and true.

Australian teams had mixed results in practice matches against Russian and Chinese teams.

The squad is looking forward to meeting more teams and more practice tomorrow before the opening ceremony.

Friday - Practice was difficult given the number of teams competing for spots and our limited time at the courts. The opening ceremony included the unveiling of the World’s first Gateball museum. The Museum is fantastic, very comprehensive and impressive with a few amusing English translations (a list of the ‘boar of directors’ was my favourite).

Some shopping was done at the seven Gateball equipment stalls. Equipment was generally very cheap - Gateball wristwatch timer/scores for around $15AUD was one of the best bargains.

The opening ceremony comprised a number of speeches, athletes and official’s oaths and some entertainment. The highlight was a skilful dragon dance.

Several Chinese and Japanese journalists spoke to Australian teams at the opening ceremony. The event and several matches were also videoed by the Super Gateball TV program in Japan, (hopefully Fox Sports picks it up…)

 

Gateball Mueseum

Friday also included the opening of (what I believe is) the world's first Gateball Museum. It included four rooms of excellent displays including the history of Gateball, the history of equipment, governance, the spread of Gateball over the World and interactive displays were you could practice your stroke of a ball through a gate. The museum also included some amusing English translations, my favourite was the "boar of directors".

The pictures that I have do not do it justice.

Pictures courtesy of Tim Goodland, Gilon Smith, Kimberlee Trent, Weekly Gateball News and the Chinese Gateball Association